The carpet of smoke is enough to block out the sun as the sky is blanketed in a sickly, orange hue. The video, which was uploaded to @MythSerene’s Twitter account, was captioned: “The unprecedented surge in wildfires has occurred since Brazilian President Bolsonaro took office in January vowing to develop the Amazon region for farming and mining, ignoring international concern over increased deforestation.” The atmosphere is eerily quiet as the sounds of jungle life are deadened by the thick, rolling smoke cloud.
Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of fires this year as the devastation continues.
According To the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), satellite data showed an 83 percent increase in the same period in 2018.
The space agency has reported its satellite data has detected more than 72,000 fires since January 2019.
The intense and longstanding fires have emanated considerable smoke and NASA has been able to take satellite footage of the apocalyptic scenes.
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Aerial footage also shared online shows large swathes of the Amazon Rainforest have been wiped out as over 9,000 wildfires took hold of trees and grassy patches over the past four days.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has dismissed climate concerns, claiming farmers in the region have been using fire to clear land for the winter.
Some conservationists have blamed President Bolsonaro for the forest fires, saying he has encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land.
Mr Bolsonaro said he disagrees with the latest data presented, saying it was the “season of the queimada”, when farmers use fire to clear land.
The Amazon rainforest has been fire-resistant for much of its history because of its natural moisture and humidity but NASA has said drought and human activities are causing wildfires.
A release from NASA said: “The intensity and frequency of droughts in turn, have been linked with increases in regional deforestation and anthropogenic climate change.”
Ricardo Mello, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Amazon Programme, added the fires were “a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures.”
Meteorologist Eric Holthaus today tweeted: “Smoke from the fires currently burning in the Amazon rainforest is covering about half of Brazil. We are in a climate emergency.”